According to the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, since sports betting became legal on August 15, gamblers wagered more than $8.5 million at 13 of the state’s 19 casinos where sports betting is offered. They turned a profit of $2.2 million and the state received nearly $150,000 in tax revenue. Currently 14 casinos offer on-site sportsbooks, and seven of those also offer mobile sports betting. It’s expected to eventually be offered at all 19 Iowa casinos.
Iowa Gaming Association President and Chief Executive Officer Wes Ehrecke said “Sports betting is an exciting and historic opportunity for those who enjoy watching pro and college sports, who will look forward to being able to place wagers in a regulated, legal and fun environment.” He noted Iowa’s commercial gaming industry “is considered a viable part of Iowa’s economy and adding value to the state’s entertainment and tourism industries.” He added legal gambling generates $1 billion in annual economic impact.
Prairie Meadows Racetrack & Casino in Altoona led the rest with $3.4 million in sports betting handle, of which two-thirds was wagered through its sports betting app. (Self-service sports betting kiosks there have been shut down while operator William Hill determines out why they recently came on in the middle of the night). Ameristar Council Bluffs took in the most in on-site, with a 2-week handle totaling $1.36 million. Harrah’s and Horseshoe, both owned by Caesars Entertainment, both opened sportsbooks on August 23 and brought in a combined $640,000.
Tribal casinos WinnaVegas in Sloan, Blackbird Bend in Onawa and Meskwaki in Tama all have a Class III license but do not yet offer sports betting. Michael Tobias, director of live games at the Sac & Fox’s Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel, said the tribe is working with outside partners on a sportsbook and also will offer a mobile gaming app. “Yes, it is in the plans. We’re probably a few months out. We’re waiting for some things to develop,” Tobias said.
Prairie Flower Casino in Carter Lake, operated by the Ponca Tribe, has a Class II license. Kathryn Rand, co-director of the Institute for the Study of Tribal Gaming Law and Policy at the University of North Dakota, said, “There’s a big stumbling block for the Prairie Flower. If the relationship with the state is not good, it makes it difficult to establish a compact.”
In 2007, the Poncas received permission from the National Indian Gaming Commission to build a casino in Carter Lake, near Council Bluffs, on land the tribe had purchased eight years earlier. Iowa and Nebraska joined Council Bluffs in a lawsuit against the commission, which reaffirmed its approval for the casino in 2017 and again in April. The tribe opened the Prairie Flower on November 1, 2018, with litigation still pending.
Tribal spokesman Jimmy Centers said it is “slightly premature” for the tribe to pursue a compact that would allow Class III gambling at Prairie Flower, but “we want to keep having conversations with the state of Iowa. It’s time to put the lawsuits behind us.”
